Door hinge



Oct. 12, 1965 R. s. TICE 3,210,798

DOOR HINGE Filed Feb. 28, 1965 FIG I FIG 2 7 INVENTOR.

REUBEN S. TICE A T TORNEVS United States Patent 3,210,798 DOOR HINGE Reuben S. Tice, 500 Del Monte Ave., Monterey, Calif. Filed Feb. 28, 1963, Ser. No. 261,673 2 Claims. (Cl. 16131) This invention relates to door hinges and has for one of its objects the provision of door hinges constructed to enable quick, accurate, and easy adjustment of doors supported thereby in directions transversely of the plane of each door.

For various reasons, such as improper initial hanging, warpage in the frame or door, settling of a building and expansion or contraction of wood, the upper or lower end of a door, or the door as a whole, may require adjustment for the door to close properly. To make adjustments of this kind by rehanging the door is expensive and is almost impossible to do with accuracy, and the alteration of the frame, including the door stop is not only even more diflicult, but is equally unsatisfactory.

The present invention does not require any changes in the method of hanging a door, but provides simple and easily operated means for quickly adjusting the door immediately after the initial hanging, or later on as the door may move out of a properly hung position, and this adjustment may be made without removal of the door from the hinges or casing.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the drawings and in the description.

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a hinge incorporating the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top edge view, looking down, taken through a hinge having the construction shown in FIG. 1 but which hinge is screwed to a door casing and to a door; said casing, door, and hinge pin being indicated in cross section;

FIG. 3 is a reduced size elevational view of a door having the hinges of the present invention supporting it from a jamb.

In detail, the hinge illustrated in FIG. 1, is a butt hinge having leaves 1, 2 respectively formed with openings 3, 4 for screws 5, 6 (FIG. 2) that are respectively adapted to secure the leaf 1 to the hinge stile 7 of the door, and to secure the leaf 2 to a jamb 8 of the casing, the latter carrying the usual door stop 9.

The leaf 2 that is adapted to be secured to the jamb 8 is formed with the usual pair of spaced cylindrical knuckles 10 for the conventional hinge pin 11.

The leaf 1 that is adapted to be secured to the door 7 has three knuckles 12, 13 and 14 starting from the top in which knuckles 12, 14 are above and below the knuckles 10 on leaf 2 while knuckle 13 is between the knuckles 10.

The knuckles 12, 13 and 14, instead of being cylindrical are generally elliptical in cross sectional contour (FIG. 2), having end walls 15 connected by parallel spaced elongated sidewalls 16, with the loop of each knuckle terminating substantially midway between one of the elongated sidewalls.

The knuckles 12, 13 and 14 are parallel with their major axes and the leaves 1 on each hinge extend perpendicular to said major axe with the space between the sides 16 of each hinge very substantially equal to the diameter of the pin 11. The bores of knuckles 10 rotatably fit the cylindrical pin 11.

Pin 11 may be removable in an upward direction in the usual manner upon removal of the lower cap 18 that may be threadedly secured to the pin 11 in the same manner employed in conventional butt hinges.

The opposite end walls15 of each knuckle 12, 13

and 14 are formed with coaxial, interiorly threaded ap- "ice ertures threadedly supporting a pair of screws 19, which may be Allen screws, having recessed outer ends for the usual Allen wrench, so that the screws will not be readily moved or loosened by unauthorized persons.

Each pair of screws 19 are adapted to tightly engage opposite sides of the pin 11 and they are preferably sufiiciently long to enable either of the two screws of each pair to hold the pin against the end wall 15 that is opposite to either screw of each pair upon unscrewing the other screw a sufiicient distance to enable the pin to be held against one end wall.

Normally the lower end surfaces of the knuckles 12, 13 will bear against the upper end surfaces of the knuckles 10 in supporting door 7 for swinging and in the present instance there is sufiicient spacing between knuckles 10, 13 and 10, 14 to permit the door 7 to swing without binding should the adjustment be such that the pin in the upper hinge is at an extreme position substantially at one of the ends of the knuckles 12, 13, 14 while the pin 11 in the lower hinge is substantially at the opposite ends of the knuckles 12, 13, 14 of the lower hinge.

In some conventional butt hinges bearing rings are positioned between the knuckles, and this structure could obviously be employed in the present instance without changing the results or manner of adjusting the hang of the door.

While most butt hinges at the present time have five knuckles, as illustrated, there may be three knuckles only, as in older type hinges, with the knuckle on the leaf that is secured to the jamb being between the knuckles carried by the leaf that is secured to the door. The present invention is not to be construed as necessarily being limited to any particular number of knuckles, nor is it necessarily to be limited to butt hinges, since it is applicable to other hinges having knuckles through which a hinge pin extends for connecting the leaves or wings having the knuckles thereon.

While any number of hinges may be used, according to the nature of the door, usually one is adjacent the upper end of the door while the other is adjacent to the lower end but slightly more distant from the lower end than the distance between the upper hinge and the top of the door.

The normal procedure in hanging a door is to first position the door substantially against the doorstops, as indicated in FIG. 2, there being proper allowance of say approximately one-eighth of an inch between the door and frame all around. The door is then temporarily blocked in place and in a normal door frame of approximately seven feet in height, a distance of approximately seven inches is measured down from the top of the door and approximately eleven inches from the bottom and these distances are marked to indicate the positions of the upper edge of the upper hinge and the lower edge of the lower hinge. These points are marked along the edge of the door that is to be hingedly supported on the jamb and the jamb adjacent said edge. The door is then removed and the edge of the door and the jamb are mortised out to receive the leaves 1, 2. The depths of the mortises when accurately made should be such as to allow a slight play between the edge of the door and the jamb along the hinged edge of the door so that the leaves 1, 2 will come together very slightly before the jamb and door meet. Since gains are normally chiseled out of the door and jamb to receive the leaves, the difiiculty in obtaining an exact and uniform positioning of the door relative to the jamb is obvious, and as a result only approximate accuracy is usually obtained.

After the door and jamb are mortised for the leaves the hinges of butts are screwed in place on the jamb and door (the hinge pin being withdrawn at this time) and thereafter the door is then positioned to align the vertical passages in the knuckles and the hinge pins are inserted.

Heretofore many fittings are usually required before the hinge butts are properly positioned in the mortises or gains that have been made. If any of the mortises or gains are too deep they are shimmed to support them at approximately the correct depth, and if too shallow, more wood may be chiseled out. Also, the bottoms of the mortises or gains may not seat the leaves correctly, and here again shims may be required between the leaves or wings on the hinges and the door or jamb.

With the present invention the screws 19 are retracted at the time when the leaves are separately screwed in place on the door and jamb and the hinge pins are removed. When the hinge pins are reinserted to connect the knuckles on the leaves, the door may be blocked to the exact and accurate relation to the frame and the screws 19 then tightened against the pins. The door will then hang with exact accuracy and no adjusting of the leaves in the mortises is necessary, even though the mortises may be too deep or too shallow and where there may be lack of uniformity in the depths of the mortises.

Also, after the hanging of the door changes in the relative positions of the door and door frame occur that may be quickly adjusted to correct their relationship to each other by merely shifting the positions of one or more pins between the ends of the knuckles 12, 13 and 14 by loosening certain screws and tightening the ones opposite thereto. It is, of course, apparent that the bottom cap 18 on the lower knuckle is not necessary to hold the pin 11 against removal, and it may be omitted or any other type of cap or closure may be provided, since the screws 19 will hold the pin 11 in place.

Iclaim:

1. A door hinge for supporting a vertical door on one jamb of an opposed pair thereof of a door frame for swinging said door from a closed position enclosed within said frame to an open position outside said frame and vice versa, comprising:

(a) a pair of vertically disposed, respectively planar leaves, one edge of each being substantially vertical, and one leaf of said pair being adapted to be secured flat against the inner surface of one jamb of said pair that faces the other jamb, and the other leaf being adapted to be secured fiat againstone vertical edge of said door that is adjacent to said one jamb when said door is hung from said one jamb and is in said closed position;

(b) a pair of knuckles spaced vertically along the said vertical edge on said other leaf and rigid with the latter;

() one knuckle rigid with said one leaf along said vertical edge of said other leaf and positioned between said pair of knuckles;

(d) the knuckles on both leaves of said pair thereof having substantially aligned vertically extending bores therethrough for receiving a vertical hinge pin;

(e) the bore in the knuckle on said one leaf being cylindrical, and a straight, vertical, cylindrical hinge pin of substantially uniform diameter extending through the bores of the knuckles on said leaves, and the diameter of the bore in said one knuckle being substantially equal to the diameter of said hinge pin for rotatably supporting said hinge pin therein against tilting in said last mentioned bore;

(f) the bores in said pair of knuckles on said other leaf being wider than the diameter of said hinge pin in a horizontal direction at a right angle to the plane of said other leaf and the plane of said other leaf vertically intersecting said bores in the knuckles on said other leaf, and the horizontal width of said last mentioned bores in the plane of said other leaf being substantially equal to the diameter of said hinge pin whereby said other leaf and the door i thereon, when said other leaf is secured flat against said one edge of said door, may be tilted in the plane of such door relative to said hinge pin so said door may be properly fitted within said frame;

(g) a pair of set screws extending toward each other and threadedly extending through two opposite sides of each knuckle of said pair thereof that are at the ends of the widest dimension of each bore in each of said knuckles, and into engagement with two opposite sides of said hinge pin for supporting said other leaf on said hinge pin in dilferent tilted positions according to the adjustment of said screws relative to each other and said hinge pin to thereby enable said tilting of said door when said other leaf is secured to said one jamb and said one leaf is secured to said one edge of said door.

2. In combination with a vertically disposed door frame having a pair of spaced opposed vertically extending jambs having flat, substantially parallel opposed surfaces, and a vertically disposed door within said frame between said jambs having opposite, vertical edges with fiat, opposed surfaces respectively closely adjacent to and in substantially parallel opposed relation to each of the opposed flat surfaces on said jambs;

(a) a pair of vertically spaced hinges swingingly connecting said door with one of said jambs for swinging said door to and from its position within said frame;

(h) each hinge having a pair of vertically disposed, planar leaves respectively secured fiat against the adjacent flat surfaces of said edge and said jamb along one of said jambs;

(c) a knuckle on one leaf of each pair that is secured fiat against said flat surface of said one of said jambs and a pair of vertically spaced knuckles on the other leaf of each pair that is secured against the flat edge of said door, said knuckle on said one leaf being between the pair of knuckles on said other leaf;

(d) the knuckles on all of said leaves of said pair of hinges having substantially vertically extending, vertically aligned bores therein for receiving a vertical hinge pin in the knuckles on the leaves of the respective pairs thereof;

(e) a vertical hinge pin extending through the bores on the knuckles on the pair of leaves of each hinge;

(f) the bores on said knuckle on said one leaf of each pair slidably and rotatably supporting the hinge pin therein against tilting of said pin relative to vertical;

(g) the bores in the pair of knuckles on the other leaf of each pair being greater in a horizontal dimension that is at right angle to the plane of said door than the diameter of said pin to permit tilting said door in the plane thereof relative to said pin to an adjusted position within said frame after said door is hung on said one jamb by said pair of hinges;

(h) means movably carried by each of said pair of knuckles an said other leaf of each pair for horizontal movement relative to each other in the direction of said horizontal dimension of each of said bores in said pair of knuckles, and into engagement with opposite sides of said pin, for securing said other leaf and said door in said adjusted position within said frame.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 392,202 11/88 Haberthur et al. 16131 1,340,862 5/20 Hornung 16-131 X 1,426,776 8/22 Riecken 16-131 FOREIGN PATENTS 675,592 5/39 Germany.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Primary Examiner.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Examiner. 

1. A DOOR HINGE FOR SUPPORTING A VERTICAL DOOR ON ONE JAMB OF AN OPPOSED PAIR THEREOF OF A DOOR FRAME FOR SWINGING SAID DOOR FROM A CLOSED POSITION ENCLOSED WITHIN SAID FRAME TO AN OPEN POSITION OUTSIDE SAID FRAME AND VICE VERSA, COMPRISING: (A) A PAIR OF VERTICALLY DISPOSED, RESPECTIVELY PLANAR LEVEAS, ONE EDGE OF EACH BEING SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL, AND ONE LEAF OF SAID PAIR BEING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED FLAT AGAINST THE INNER SURFACE OF ONE JAMB OF SAID PAIR THAT FACES THE OTHER JAMB, AND THE OTHER LEAF BEING ADAPTED TO BE SECURED FLAT AGAINST ONE VERTICAL EDGE OF SAID DOOR THAT IS ADJACENT TO SAID ONE JAMB WHEN SAID DOOR IS HUNG FROM SAID ONE JAMB AND IS IN SAID CLOSED POSITION; (B) A PAIR OF KNUCKLES VERTICALLY ALONG THE SAID VERTICAL EDGE ON SAID OTHER LEAF AND RIGID WITH THE LATTER; (C) ONE KNUCKLE RIGID WITH SAID ONE LEAF ALONG SAID VERTICAL EDGE OF SAID OTHER LEAF AND POSITONED BETWEEN SAID PAIR OF KNUCKLES; (D) THE KNUCKLES ON BOTH LEAVES OF SAID PAIR THEREOF HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY ALIGNED VERTICALLY EXTENDING BORES THERETHROUGH FOR RECEIVING A VERTICAL HINGE PIN; (E) THE BORE IN THE KNUCKLE ON SAID ONE LEAF BEING CYLINDRICAL, AND A STRAIGHT, VERTICAL, CYLINDRICAL HINGE PIN OF SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM DIAMETER EXTENDING THROUGH THE BORES OF THE KNUCKLES ON SAID LEAVES AND THE DIAMETER OF THE BORE IN SAID ONE KNUCKLE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID HINGE PIN FOR ROTATABLY SUPPORTING SAID HINGE PIN THEREIN AGAINST TILTING IN SAID LAST MENTIONED BORE; (F) THE BORES IN SAID PAIR OF KNUCKLES ON SAID OTHER LEAF BEING WIDER THAN THE DIAMETER OF SAID HINGE PIN IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION AT A RIGHT ANGLE TO THE PLANE OF SAID OTHER LEAF AND THE PLANE OF SAID OTHER LEAF VERTICALLY INTERSECTING SAID BORES IN THE KNUCKLES ON SAID OTHER LEAF, AND THE HORIZONTAL WIDTH OF SAID LAST MEN TIONED BORES IN THE PLANE OF SAID OTHER LEAF BEING SUBSTANTIALLY EQUAL TO THE DIAMETER OF SAID HINGE PIN WHEREBY SAID OTHER LEAF AND THE DOOR THEREON, WHEN SAID OTHER LEAF IS SECURED FLAT AGAINST SAID ONE EDGE OF SAID DOOR, MAY BE TILTED IN THE PLANE OF SUCH DOOR RELATIVE TO SAID HINGE PIN SO SAID DOOR MAY BE PROPERLY FITTED WITHIN SAID FRAME; (G) A PAIR OF SET SCREWS EXTENDING TOWARD EACH OTHER AND THREADEDLY EXTENDING THROUGH TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF EACH KNUCKLES OF SAID PAIR THEREOF THAT ARE AT THE ENDS OF THE WIDEST DIMENSION OF EACH BORE IN EACH OF SAID KNUCKLES, AND INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH TWO OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID HINGE PIN FOR SUPPORTING SAID OTHER LEAF ON SAID HINGE PIN IN DIFFERENT TILTED POSITIONS ACCORDING TO THE ADJUSTMENT OF SAID SCREWS RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER AND SAID HINGE PIN TO THEREBY ENABLE SAID TILTING OF SAID DOOR WHEN SAID OTHER LEAF IS SECURED TO SAID ONE JAMB AND SAID ONE LEAF IS SECURED TO SAID ONE EDGE OF SAID DOOR. 